"Pawlenty's decision not to run for governor could be a lead-up to a decision to run for President," said Jacobs. "And Pawlenty's decision to run for President makes it more likely, not less, that he will support Coleman's efforts to appeal to the federal courts when he loses in the Minnesota Supreme Court. So I think the bottom line here is, Gov. Pawlenty's political agenda may end up driving how he handles the Senate recount."

Politics, ain't is grand.

Republican Tim Pawlenty said on Tuesday he would not seek a third term as Minnesota's governor but deflected questions about whether he would run for U.S. president in 2012.

"I'm not ruling anything in or out," the 48-year-old Pawlenty told reporters in Minnesota, adding he planned to offer his party new ideas.

"I have 19 months left in my term -- this is not a wake," Pawlenty said, joking that he planned to tend to his lawn.

A lawyer and state legislator elected governor in 2002 and re-elected four years later, Pawlenty was an early supporter of Republican presidential nominee John McCain and was considered a potential running mate for the Arizona senator.

McCain, who went on to lose the 2008 election to Democrat Barack Obama, instead chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin who, along with Republicans Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, are considered potential presidential candidates in 2012.

"I think we need new ideas and new faces in the party. It's something I'm going to do as a volunteer," Pawlenty said. "We have to be a party of addition not subtraction, and I think I can help with that effort." read more here....

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